Chapter 46: Anbu Temporarily Takes Over the Police Department—and Everyone Just Shut Down!

Sarutobi Hiruzen walked onto the rooftop of the Hokage Building, gazing at the endless crowd before him, his anger toward Uchiha Jin growing ever stronger.

But.

He quickly adjusted his mindset and once again wore a benevolent expression.

“Everyone, quiet down!”

At Sarutobi Hiruzen’s voice, the shouting crowd instantly fell silent.

Clearly.

He still had the authority of the Hokage!

Then.

Sarutobi Hiruzen first apologized to everyone, affirmed the reforms of the Police Department, and finally announced that during the reform period, the Anbu would take charge of village security.

He would select a location within the village as the Anbu’s official outpost; during this time, anyone encountering trouble could seek help from the Anbu.

At last.

The villagers, their concerns resolved, reluctantly dispersed.

But…

While the villagers were satisfied, the Anbu began to suffer headaches!

There was no choice!

The Anbu knew full well the troubles the Police Department had endured over the years.

Though these civilians had no chakra, they were more stubborn than ninja, and sometimes utterly unreasonable.

But, no recourse!

They had no power to oppose the Hokage’s decision.

…

Two hours later.

Near the Hokage Building, a three-story house sprang up overnight.

The rapid construction was thanks largely to the contribution of the Mokuton ninja, Yamato.

Then.

As Anbu members moved in, a flood of civilians surged inside.

The Anbu members’ lips twitched.

Still, it was fine!

Everyone wore masks, so their expressions of agony remained hidden.

Anbu clerk: “What’s the matter, ladies?”

The lead woman immediately spoke: “She stole my hen! That hen was for nourishing my son, the Jonin trainee!”

“Liar! That hen is mine!” the other woman shouted back.

Then.

Right before the Anbu clerk’s eyes, the two women began physically wrestling over the chicken.

Anbu clerk: “...”

He, was utterly stunned.

He felt his ears had grown calluses from the noise; it was more exhausting than a battle with an enemy.

Headache!

Still, he quickly spoke: “Team Jia-3, handle this.”

Soon after.

A team of Anbu arrived, dragged the two women away, clearly heading to the scene to investigate.

Only after the two women left did the Anbu clerk finally exhale.

But, unfortunately.

Before he could even take a sip of water, another man approached: “Kenta borrowed three hundred ryo from me, promised to repay in a month—it’s been three months already!”

“I don’t have money,” the other man waved dismissively. “I’ll pay Itachi when I do!”

Anbu clerk: “...”

He felt his head would explode—how was he supposed to handle this?

Finally.

He could only wave his hand and say: “I’m only here to record cases. Your case will be taken over by someone else.”

“Team Jia-5, handle it.”

At the Anbu clerk’s words, another reluctant Anbu team stepped forward and led the two men away from the Anbu building.

Then.

The numb Anbu clerk faced his third complainant!

…

Two hours later, outside a civilian home.

Kakashi, overseeing Team Bing-7, listened as the two families bickered.

“We broke off the engagement—return the three thousand ryo dowry!”

“Absolutely not! It was your side who broke it!”

“Itachi never disclosed your daughter was blind!”

“Itachi never asked! Either way, no refund!”

“Anbu lords, please help me get my money back—it’s three thousand ryo!”

“Itachi broke the engagement—why should I return the dowry?”

The two families spat curses at each other, erupting into another furious argument.

Kakashi’s team was covered in black lines.

The shouting gave them all headaches!

Yamato couldn’t help speaking: “Captain, how do we resolve this?”

“I don’t know!” Kakashi shrugged.

Yes.

For matters where both sides claimed to be right, who the hell knew how to handle them!

Another Anbu member couldn’t help saying: “Does the Police Department deal with this kind of nonsense every single day? Honestly, I feel sorry for them.”

“If it were me, I’d have completely broken down and quit long ago!”

Kakashi and Yamato nodded in agreement.

Indeed!

This kind of thing was impossible to handle properly!

No matter how Itachi ruled, one side would always be dissatisfied—and Konoha, as a military stronghold, cared only about ninja as armed forces; there was no such thing as a civil code.

So.

How these matters were resolved ultimately depended entirely on the enforcer’s personal judgment.

Precisely because of this, the Police Department’s reputation kept worsening, no matter how they ruled—someone was always unhappy.

Now that it’s the Anbu’s turn, the Anbu is just as miserable.

Finally.

Overwhelmed by the noise, Kakashi decided to just pay out of his own pocket.

Problem solved perfectly!

But Yamato couldn’t help speaking: “We can’t keep paying every time. Our salaries won’t last!”

“What should we do?” Kakashi asked.

Yamato didn’t know!

The group returned to the Anbu building, burdened by this unbearable weight.

But, unfortunately.

Before they could rest, they were assigned another case.

Finally.

Kakashi paid another eight hundred ryo!

By the time they finished work that evening, Kakashi’s team had paid over ten thousand ryo total.

Even so, Kakashi’s team was utterly exhausted.

Not just their team—even other teams were on the verge of collapse.

And so…

By the third day, even the Anbu couldn’t hold out—their salaries couldn’t sustain it.

Finally, no choice!

Though deeply reluctant, they had no option but to issue rulings: either pay compensation or go to jail.

But precisely because of this decision, the Anbu’s reputation turned sour—they followed the Police Department’s path.

The Anbu saw this and realized: this couldn’t continue!

No choice.

They could only go to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

And yet, for this.

What good solution did Hiruzen Sarutobi have?

So.

He once again sought out Shikamaru Nara: “The Anbu can’t hold out much longer. Can Itachi think of something, Nara?”

“There’s no solution!” Shikamaru Nara sighed. “This is merely a temporary fix!”

“Anyone who takes over the Police Department will face this exact problem. Why did the villagers resent the Uchiha in the past? Isn’t it precisely because of the Police Department?”

“This is a hot potato—neither the Uchiha nor anyone else can handle it!”

Hiruzen Sarutobi was utterly helpless.

Ultimately.

He could only soothe the Anbu and buy them more time, then order Danzo to eliminate Uchiha Jin!